The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-04-24
THE COTTON OIL TRUST.
IT'S ORIGIN, DEVELOPMENT AND
PRESENT STRENGTH.

Jts WAYS of Dealing With Mill owners
Who Will Not Come to Terms Claim
Made in It's Behalf That 1t Has Sys-
+amatized the Business and is a Good
Tbinp for the Producer-The Men in
the Newly Organized Opposition
company $4,000 Out in Ger
tifcates
From, the Chicago Tribune.
The suit recently brought in New Orleans
,c,ainst the American Cotton Oil Trust for
voriols extortionate and illegal acts calls re-
nawed attention to comparatively new
branch of business and one concerning
which the public has little knowledge. The
nee of cotton-seed for making food for man
md beast and fertilizers for the earth is the
creation of a great source of wealth which
hos until recent years been almost entirely
neglected. Millions of dollars are now real
lied every year from substance which has
heretofore run to waste, and the lsdustry is
in its infancy.
The control of this industry is now mainly
i, tin hands of this one company, and there
l. a very natural fear that its further devel-
nnnent will be impeded, that the planters
yin not receive a fair compensation for
their seed, and that the people will not de-
rive all the benefit they should from this I'M
nortont product of the soil. The officials of
HE Cotton Oil Trust claim that they are
nnrs,1ing a perfectly legitimate course-that
tbev are doing nothing but what any honor
able business man would dO III the conduct
of his affairs At the same time some of
Them admit that all the tremendous power
of the company'S capital is used to drive
mon of moderate means from the industry,
~, yl,.a,,l fl1oyrS sac ion
Of the country of which they wish to obtain
control. they propose to buy out the mills in
oneratiou there. and if the owners will not
sell they will come in themselves, bid up the
nrice Of seed to point where there is no
profit in the industry, and finally force the
local manufacturers to sell to them or
leave. This say the opposition manu-
facturers, sis conspiracy and tyranny of the
strong over the weak, and if there is any
remedy in the laws we will have it."
at is not conspiracy" replies the Trust,
t'hut q policv such as any business man pur-
sues, using all the advantage that his wealth
and position give him i'll his competition
with others"
AGAINST the Trust all through the South on
account OF its grasping policy, but hereto
fore there has been no successful resistance,
and it NAV almost be said that the organi-
zation car get hold of any mill it wants on
terms favorable to ITSELF However bitter
The owners Of any mill may be, they will
not run the risk of utter ruin in resisting
NbisnOwerful enemy The Trust will leave
the owner of mill half loaf in the shape
OF the superntendency of the property I'M
der its SUPERVISION and will pay him mod
crate price for his plant This he considers
better than having his works closed and his
business destroyed utterly.
There are not far from $50 mills and re-
fnaries in the South, of which about four
Gfths belong to the American Cotton Oil
Trust These mills are to be found in every
State where cotton is raised, and some eff
forts have been made to establish works in
the Northern States, but with little success.
1t is not to be understood that all these
mills are in operation. Only three of the
seven in New Orleans are now open, and
there are many small ones at obscure points
which have been closed for a long time.
Closing mills and keeping down the supply
Of the product is one of the methods Of
maintaining the price of oil. The Trust
also buys part of the output of the opposi-
ton mills from time to time for the same
purpose. 1t appears, therefore, that the
outsiders still have some influence on the
market, though the Trust claims that it
docs not want to buy any more mills. OF
the eleven mills in Memphis five are gener-
ally said to be outside the combination, but
it is known that the Trust owns some of the
stock OF these concerns and is gradually ac-
curing more. Advantage is taken of every
little reverse in the business for this pur-
pose. A number Of the stockholders of the
outside mills in Memphis have recently sold
out because they thought it was of no use
to resist
This policy is the same that has been pur-
sued from the organization Of the Trust, in
september, 1891. The officials state that the
enterprise was undertaken for the purpose
OF syStematlZlng business which had been
conducted entirely without regard to bust
ness rules, and which had become democrat
Yea by the reckless competition of those en-
gagged III It. The first experiments in the
manufacture of cotton oil were made in 1882
Or 1888, but they resulted very unsatisfacto-
ny IN 1917 Frederick Good began in the
business near New Orleans and spent Sl2, 900
AL lie now has TO show for it is small vial Of
uI' There are men in tie business who
started twenty and thirty years ago, but
.1ey state that nothing was accomplished
vi alter the war. Almost everybody who
went INTO 1t lost money, and of course the
war completed the ruin. After the armies
SlI Tue Held there was a revival of the in
u1sII ana some money was made, but the
upeVhous We're crude, competition for the
seeu ran high, and the sale of the product
was dlficult because its value was not I'M
terstood by the people. The business had
r. az" WV us llu 1907, Wlen the best
E 1lIls' such as those in Memphis and New
gglleaIs, were paying good dividends and
I ho SUCKS We're selling above par In 1888
le manufacturers got into an eager com
peV!tlon Tor the seed and the price was run
~ 10 Slo ton or more. This, it is claimed
was % more than the mills could pay and
S ed any profit out of the manufacture. In
80 80 Ihe nnllers get together, divided up the
rniafNory producing seed agreed TO pay d
SIl1 pflce OF $40 per ton, and generally
mopOeu policy Of harmony. This arrange
G GenU dropped to pieces in 1854, the stocks of
s~d mining companies fell TO very low prices,
% nu Ihe opportunity Of the Trust was at
a"ln. Inc strongest men in the business,
jV1eI as Jules Aldige of New Orleans and J.
=, lewis OF Cincinnati, undertook the work
NJ Suhzation. Stocks Of the companies
NJ MY, u nouSht at very low rates, certificates
ute American Cotton Oil Trust being
tue, ueu IN payment. The Arkansas mills
n sriicu nucleus, and the process of conlbi-
no No. mas been going on ever since. 1t was
"A m,iiee,Iialy TO conduct these operations very
n q, ~ ana the habit of secrecy has grown
r@.i Gue c0ilolnatl.n. 1t has always been the
eyo} -. vi enc company to retain the manas-
al to! inc nllls in is employ, but it is claim
b., t tLH|V great economies haVo been effected
IL tH9 IlSihlssal OF unnecessary employees.
ISIS charged That certificates have been
rrTe'a largely III excess of the value of the
i'NltltNS luppbDgad nDg.s.t. "a